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I am a craftswoman & artist; a mother to the animals that look to me, to the trees & gardens that I’ve planted, and to the land that I am pioneering.

I was born in France and grew up outside of Geneva, in the vastness of London and in the hills of Provence & the Mediterranean area.

I was trained as an artist through mentoring & college, when in 1985 I received a BA in Fine Arts- both in studio art and art history. I was a paper maker, photographer, printer & weaver. Professionally, I represented photographers & artists in the commercial gallery system, notably Vision Gallery in San Francisco.

Today, I advocate for my own creative work… in a journey called Brizel Handcrafts. I continue to be very eclectic and work with a variety of naturally eco-friendly materials and supplies.

I craft throughout the wheel of the year- making certain products at specific times of the solar year or of the lunar cycle. Since I have chosen to live very close to the land... up in the mountains where the skies are wide & open... all Her rhythms, deep consciousness and passion reverberate in what I create.

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Brizel Handcrafts can be found on ETSY.

At Brizel Handcrafts you will find a variety of colorful unique special occasion items all handmade from eco-friendly materials... Brigid Crosses made from homegrown apple wood; Silk Tapestries in the form of Art Boxes, plush Hearts; Hip Pouches, Table Pouches, Table Rugs - all made from banana silk and reclaimed silk sari yarns. You will also find Brizel's Hip Button Belts crocheted from satin cord & embellished with vintage collectible buttons; as well as necklaces and bracelets created with Tagua Nut wood and natural clay ceramic beads.

Friday, April 23, 2010

In memory of Nimue

Lately, I have found myself feeling unusually introspective about life and its philosophical ins & outs (the more you know- the less you know ?) I think witnessing death and feeling loss created & intensified that opportunity for me.

Nimue's passing was so unexpected... sudden... final. With the help of ranch friends her body was laid to rest at Twilight by sunset. The overwhelming sadness lingered... and many questions were raised within myself. One of my dear friends is an animal communicator with the incredible ability to reach out & speak to animals on all planes of existence. She was able to talk with Nimue and help us both thru this transition. What a healing gift ! I feel so blessed to have had that service available to us.

I wanted Nimue's memorial ceremony to be a celebration... She was born right before spring and died a month after her 7th birthday. Named after the Welsh Spring Maiden, Nimue ('Nim-way'), her energy was bouncy and lively. Clearly I needed some time to get to that energetic place within myself. When I felt ready to set the date... it was to take place a month after that. It gave me time to process... to create ceremonial items... to order things... to be able to look at photos and... put all the pieces together.

Sunday April 18th arrived and some of my dearest Californian girlfriends & I gathered together here on the ranch and enjoyed an unusual gorgeous sunny day. We spent the morning up at Jo's taking a walk with some of her Icelandic ponies, and then returned to Twilight for Nimue's memorial ceremony, followed by a potluck feast... and in celebration of spring we indulged in a clothing swap !

In memory of Nimue... Altar

Altar dressed in yellow with honeybee hexagon motif... Favorite photos of Nimue throughout her life adorn the wall... A statue of a dog that reminds me of her... a cream dahlia flower that Melinda brought... a vase full of white calla lilies & yellow flowers that Julia contributed... four buddleia butterfly bushes in yellows and pinks... a sunflower platter filled with yellow & white wild flower heads... Nimue's food bowl filled with 70 yellow ribbons... a scrapbook filled with photographs, poems, animal communication scripts and other Nimue related memories... two long burning white candles... a mini skeleton dog dressed in a skirt, scarf & hat... Nimue's dog collar with tags... a white & yellow Brizel silk tapestry memory box with Nimue's fur in it*... A white, yellow, red multicolor Brizel silk tapestry heart plush with a custom Nimue's photo on it*... a wood pendant netsuke carving of Kwan Yin gifted to me by Jo... a platter of ceremonial canine treats and bundt cake*... a white chocolate 3d dog*... an art tile with a dog that reminds me of Nimue*... a platter of individually wrapped dog shaped white sugar cookies made by my friend Laura in VA.

Many of the edibles were white or yellow or canine theme... dinner the previous night had been a creamed cauliflower potato soup with corn & crusty white bread with white chocolate bark for desert... breakfast was an assortment of eggs, dog shaped toast, baked beans, paw shaped french toast, a fruit salad with bananas... lunch had a variety of yummy salads: marinated sliced yellowed cucumbers, red beets with nuts, an eclectic green salad, vegan wheat gluten faux meats and lemon chicken... we had lemonade & apple juice and even some white wine available... I made a banana vanilla coconut tofu pie in a graham cracker crust... and then there was Laura's dog shaped white sugar cookies which we had all the way at the end !

In memory of Nimue... Gratitude

Thanks to my friend Karen Lisa for all her incredible love, energy & help

Thanks to all my EFA Team mates who have been so very kind & understanding

Thanks to my Etsy friends for all your loving convos of concern

Thanks to my friends Julie & Melinda for sending me sympathy cards

Thanks to Jo for making time to have fun with the ponies (Flyboy, Andi, Kappi, Svoelnir, Mimir)

Thanks to Julia, Melinda, BJ, and Jo for officiating in Nimue's ceremony and for all your gifts of love and generosity

Thanks to my friend Laura G. for the home made ceremonial dog cookies

Thanks to my father & Anne and to my siblings for being in touch and for all their support

WELCOME... to my blog !

Home to Brizel Handcrafts, Brizel Supplies & Brizel 4 The Animals... also to Twilight and anything else to do with me: Nicole, Hazel, & Brizel !

I've been blogging here for five years now... I love to share what's closest to my heart: often its about my handcrafts; my land: Twilight; my animal pack; animal shamanism; homeopathy for animals; animal advocacy; Team EFA: Etsy for Animals; my online businesses, buttons or crafting materials i'm in love with... And finally... my posts serve as an opportunity to express gratitude to those who support me.

There is a search tool for this blog on the top left of the page and a subject index on the bottom left.

Brizel4TheAnimals is a fundraising shop donating 10% of its sales to animal charity.

Brizel Vintage Woven Sashes

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Brizel Tagua Nut Jewelry

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Brizel Organic Iris Bulbs

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Brizel Apple Wood Chew Sticks

Brizel4TheAnimals on Etsy

Brizel Supplies on Etsy... sells ALL KiNDS of fabulous sewing buttons from around the world which have either been unveiled from time bomb stashes or carefully uncarded from estate piles in order to create delicious ViNTAGE upcycled sets for your consideration AND there you will also find the ever so beautiful NEW Czech glass art buttons + some colorful plastic floral button embellishments.